May 22, 2015

UC Berkeley researchers have developed new algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks by trial and error, using a process that more closely approximates the way humans learn.

They demonstrated their technique, a type of reinforcement learning, by having a robot complete various tasks — putting a clothes hanger on a rack, assembling a toy plane, screwing a cap on a water bottle, and more — without pre-programmed… read more

New neuroprosthetic implant captures intent to move, not the movement directly

May 22, 2015

Paralyzed from the neck down, Erik G. Sorto now can smoothly move a robotic arm just by thinking about it, thanks to a clinical collaboration between Caltech, Keck Medicine of USC and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center,

Previous neural prosthetic devices, such as Braingate, were implanted in the motor cortex, resulting in delayed, jerky movements. The new device was implanted in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC),… read more

May 21, 2015

Using electrochemistry, North Carolina State University (NCSU) researchers have created a reconfigurable, voltage-controlled liquid metal antenna that may play a role in future mobile devices and the coming Internet of Things.

By placing a positive or negative electrical voltage across the interface between the liquid metal and an electrolyte, they found that they could cause the liquid metal to spread (flow into a capillary) or contract, changing… read more

May 21, 2015

A new graphene roll-to-roll continuous manufacturing process developed by MIT and University of Michigan researchers could finally take wonder-material graphene out of the lab and into practical commercial products.

The new process is an adaptation of a chemical vapor deposition method widely used to make graphene, using a small vacuum chamber into which a vapor containing carbon reacts on a horizontal substrate, such as a copper foil.… read more

May 21, 2015

A new electronics technique that could allow a radio device to transmit and receive on the same channel at the same time (“full duplex,” or simultaneous, two-way transmission) has been developed by researchers at the University of Bristol’s Communication Systems and Networks research group. The technique can estimate and cancel out the interference from a device’s own transmission.

Today’s cell phones and other communication devices use twice as much of the radio… read more

Simple design mimics pumping mechanism of life-sustaining proteins found in living cells

May 20, 2015

Northwestern University scientists have developed the first entirely artificial molecular pump, in which molecules pump other molecules. The pump might one day be used to power other molecular machines, such as artificial muscles.

The new machine mimics the pumping mechanism of proteins that move small molecules around living cells to metabolize and store energy from food. The artificial pump draws power from chemical reactions, driving molecules step-by-step… read more

May 19, 2015

Playing natural sounds such as flowing water in offices could boost worker moods and improve cognitive abilities in addition to providing speech privacy, according to a new study from researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

An increasing number of modern open-plan offices employ sound masking systems such as “white noise” that raise the background sound of a room so that speech is rendered unintelligible beyond a certain distance and distractions… read more

May 19, 2015

Infusing the polymer in a laser-induced graphene supercapacitor (used to rapidly store and discharge electricity) with boric acid quadrupled the supercapacitor’s ability to store an electrical charge while greatly boosting its energy density (energy per unit volume), Rice University researchers have found.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour uses commercial lasers to create thin, flexible supercapacitors by burning patterns into common polymers. The laser burns… read more

May 18, 2015

MIT and Harvard University researchers have created a graphene-like electrically conductive. porous, layered material as possible new tool for storing energy and investigating the physics of unusual materials.

They synthesized the material using an organic molecule called HITP and nickel ions, forming a new compound: Ni3(HITP)2.

The new porous material is a crystalline, structurally tunable electrical conductor with a high surface area — features… read more

May 18, 2015

MIT scientists have developed a systematic approach to research the structure of spider “silk” (which ounce for ounce, is stronger than steel) and how spiders optimize their own webs. The researchers are blending computational modeling and mechanical analysis to 3D-print synthetic spider webs, with the goal of fabricating and testing synthetic spider-web structures.

“This is the first methodical exploration of its kind,” says Professor Markus… read more